A Facebook page for issues of interest to members of the Fond-du-Lac Dene Nation is generating a lot of attention – both good and bad.
One of the hot topics of interest on the Fond-du-Lac Band and Urban Members Information Facebook page is a promised $15,000 Treaty 8 settlement payout to band members.
The payout was supposed to take place in early August, but has yet to happen.
A recent letter from settlement trustees says “negative social media” is causing delays in obtaining insurance and therefore slowing down the payment process.
However, page administrator Steve Denton says he makes no apologies for the page or its contents.
“They basically asked us to shut our pages down and shut up, I guess,” he says. “I felt, you know, we have a freedom of speech and everybody should be heard no matter how bad it is.”
Denton adds he goes out of his way to ensure the page is as clean and fair as possible.
“We like the opinions and even if we don’t agree with the opinions, we do want them on our page. I do remove comments that I don’t think are appropriate or vulgar. And there is some posts that people send me that I do not put on for the same reason.”
The trustees have recently taken to sending Denton information, which he has also posted.
The private page currently has just over 500 members.
Denton’s Facebook page is one of a handful that talks about Fond-du-Lac issues.
(PHOTO: Treaty 8 logo. Photo courtesy of treaty8.ca)